Ladders are frequently transported on vehicles such as vans, panel trucks, and pickup trucks. There are many different types of vehicular racks utilized for this purpose. However, once the ladder is positioned on the rack, the ladder is often free to move about thereby producing objectionable noises, causing abrasive wear on the ladder and the rack, and being readily susceptible to theft. In more extreme cases, the ladder may even become detached from the rack, and fall to the ground such as during travel over rough roads. Even though there is a wide range of racks that are utilized for carrying ladders and/or other items, it would be highly desirable to provide a ladder locking mechanism that would operate with virtually any already existing vehicular rack system and thereby inexpensively help eliminate objectionable noises, abrasive wear on the ladder and the rack, susceptibility to theft, and falling from the rack.
Ladders are commonly used in various construction projects, and therefore must be transported to and from the work site. Many trucks and other vehicles used to transport equipment have racks on which a ladder may be placed. However, these racks do not include means for securing the ladder. Thus, ladders are frequently just tied to the vehicle, and may become loose during transport and fall into the road, where they may be lost, damaged or even cause accidents. Furthermore, while the vehicle is unattended, a thief can untie and remove the ladder. Alternatively, ladders are commonly stored in sheds and garages. There exist racks for storing ladders, however these racks do not provide a means for securing a ladder from theft. It would be advantages to have a bracket that can lock a ladder onto a stationary rack to prevent the ladder from being stolen.
The use of devices and methods relating to ladder locking devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 272,867 issued in the name Leach; 5,154,258 issued in the name Krukow; 5,918,488 issued in the name Deeter, 5,996,736 issued in the name Stankiewicz; 6,290,113 issued in the name Plyler; and 6,688,428 issued in the name Carroll, Jr.
While existing devices suit their intended purpose, the need remains for a device and method that is able to provide an inexpensive means for locking ladders to racks of many different types which may be utilized to provide safer and more reliable storage of ladders and transportation of ladders on vehicles with already existing vehicular racks as well as newly designed racks.